• Young-Joo Park, Hyun-Jeong Shin, Hosihn Ryu, Suk-Hee Cheon, and So-Hyun Moon.
• College of Nursing, Korea University, Seoul 136-705, Korea.
• Taehan Kanho Hakhoe Chi. 2004 Aug 1; 34 (5): 722-8.

PurposeThis study was designed to determine the predictors of postpartum depression.MethodOne hundred- sixty one women within one year after delivery from one public health center located in the northern area of Seoul were used in this study. The instruments were a survey of general characteristics, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, recent life events index, perceived social support from family, Quality of marriage index, parenting stress index, and Rosenberg's self-esteem inventory. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and logistic regression.ResultThe average item score of the EPDS was 6.67. 12.4% of respondents, who scored above a threshold 12, were likely to be suffering from a depression of varying severity. The fitness of the model for explaining postpartum depression from six variables, plan for pregnancy, family support, quality of marital relation, perceived social support, life events, childcare stress, and self-esteem, was statistically significant and the predictive power of these variables was 90.9%. The significant predictors of postpartum depression were family support and child care stress.ConclusionFurther research is needed to identify the prevalence rate of postpartum depression using more reliable sampling methods from a large general population. Nursing interventions need to be developed for promoting family support and reducing childcare stress.

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